Moments after the press conference shooting, the identity of Nathan's assassin is revealed, resulting in Peter and Greg delving into an unknown world. Sylar -- now with his powers partially restored -- visits Claire with the motive of giving his powers a boost that would make him an unstoppable force. Across the globe in Tokyo, Hiro and Ando must guard a family secret that, if revealed, could tear the planet apart; and learn that speedster Daphne, may have a hand in a grim future. In New York City, Maya and Suresh have a breakthrough that may change the world forever.

Recap

Working titles for the episode included "The Butterfly Effect," which went on to be the title of the second episode of the season, and "A Second Coming."

In the original airing of the episode it concluded with two title cards, the first being "Heroes Continues..." and the second being "NOW!". In the iTunes download of the episode, the two title cards were replaced with "To Be Continued..."

The "Villains" volume was originally planned to be included with the second season; however, due to the 2007-2008 Writers' Strike, the volume was changed to be season 3 of the series.

This is one of few episodes in which all of the main characters appear.

Mohinder: (closing voiceover) Turning and turning in the widening gyre/The falcon cannot hear the falconer;/Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,/The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned;/The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity./Surely some revelation is at hand;/Surely the Second Coming is at hand./The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out/When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi/Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert/A shape with lion body and the head of a man,/A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,/Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it/Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds./The darkness drops again; but now I know/That twenty centuries of stony sleep/were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,/And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,/Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Episode Goofs

In the opening sequence, it's not clear what Claire hopes to gain by shooting Peter, insofar as she knows he has D.L.'s and Hiro's power as well as her own.

Sylar tells Claire that humans only use 10 or 20 percent of their brains. This, however, is a common misconception -- humans use all of their brain power.

Cultural References

Halloween

According to episode commentary, the scenes in which Sylar chases Claire around her house is a nod to the horror movie Halloween.

The Second Coming

The poem Mohinder reads at the end is entitled "The Second Coming," which is the title of the episode. "The Second Coming" was written in 1919 by William Butler Yeats during the aftermath of World War I.

Analysis

Abilities DevelopmentSylar: Sylar gains Claire's ability to regenerate.Angela Petrelli: It's revealed she has the ability to see the future.Peter Petrelli: At some point in a future timeline, he gains the power to teleport others and the ability to place one individual inside of another, with the captive individual retaining mental control of the resulting gestalt while suppressing the host personality.Ando: At some point in a future timeline, Ando gains the ability to project heat blasts.Daphne: Daphne can move at superspeed, so fast as to be all but invisible.Mohinder: He gains enhanced strength, agility, and sensory abilities from his derived serum.

Can time travelers alter their personal history and create a paradox?

With this episode, some confusion arises. Previously it's been shown that Hiro can't create a paradox and alter his personal history to the point where he would have no reason to travel back in time to change history. As was shown in "Six Months Ago," attempting to do so causes the traveler to go forward in time to their personal "present." Here, however, Future Peter seems to have reason to believe that he can alter his personal history, and Angela also believes it can be done. Whether they are mistaken and Peter is doomed to failure, or Hiro didn't understand the full extent of his powers, remains to be seen.